Health workforce in times of financial crisis

Abstract

Planning of health workforce is a complex issue even in times of stable socio-economic circumstances. Due to the multiple influences affecting it and due to the high costs of health workforce education and training, health workforce represents an important asset in any country. In contrast, as the demand for health services keeps growing, so does the demand for the different health professionals. Countries decide to opt for different answers to the challenges of the financial crisis within health care. In the first place, they try to reduce costs. Being the key expense in health care, health workforce raises temptations to restrict it in its growth or even achieving its contraction as that can bring about significant savings. Of course, such approaches are rather shortlived. But sometimes, as it has been the case of Sweden since the 1990s, restructuring of health care can lead to less need and consequently to a drop in the number of health professionals.1 It remains questionable …